Gun control device



P 1946= J. SOENKE 2,408,277

GUN CONTROL DEVI'GE Filed Aug. 19, 1941 S ShGetS-SheQt l &

pt. 24, 1946. J. E. SOENKE GUN CONTROL DEVICE Filed Aug. 19, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 .Ja/Mr E. GOE/VKE) Sept. 24, 1946... J. E. SOENKE GUN CONTROL DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed Aug. 19, 1941 Patented Sept. 24, 1946 onirso STATE S PATENT OFFICE Glenn L. Martin Company,

Baltimore, Md.

Application August 19, 1941, Serial No. 407,395

'8 Claims.

The invention relates to gun control mecha nism and especially to mechanism for controlling the position and the firing of machine guns.

Machine guns are ordinarily mounted in vehicles in such a manner that they may be aimed in different directions. During such movement, some portion of the vehicle may come within the line of fire and, unless the gunner is very careful, the vehicle may be damaged. This is especially true when the gun is mounted in a turret for movement in train and elevation about vertical and horizontal axes respectively.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide means for controlling a gun so as to prevent it from discharging shots in certain directions.

A second object of the invention is to prevent firing of the gun when it is pointed in certain directions within its range of fire, and especially when it is pointed at some part of the Vehicle in which it is mounted.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, in conjunction with a gun mounted for movement in train and elevation, an arrangement controlled by the movement of the gun to prevent firing thereof when it is aimed in certain directions. 7 A further purpose of the invention is to produce, in combination with a; gun mounted in a turret for movement therewith in train and with respect thereto in elevation, a device controlled by the movement of the turret and gun for cutting ofi the fire of the gun from certain areas.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a mechanical arrangement and an electrical circuit controlled thereby for accomplishing these results.

Another disadvantage of turret-mounted guns is that the gun, in swinging, is likely to strike the wall of the vehicle, if this wall is curved or is not exactly perpendicular to the axisabout which the gun turns. This is likely to damage both the gun and the vehicle, or, where the gun is power operated, the mechanism for moving the same.

Therefore an additional object of the invention is to provide, especially in a power operated turret, a mechanism which will prevent the .gun from striking the vehicle wall.

Another purpose is to regulate a power mechanism for lifting and lowering a turret mounted gun in such a manner that, whatever be the .position of the manual control means, the lifting means will always be operated whenever the tinret turns, if the gun 'is in such a position that in its turning movement it would strike the vehicle body.

A further object is to provide a mechanism for accomplishing this result which is controlled by the movement of the gun and turret, and especially one which is operated jointly with and forms a part of the gun fire control device referred to above.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear more fully from the following description, particularly when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows in side elevation a control mcchanism embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a cross section substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail cross section generally on the line 44 of Fig. 3; V

Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line 55 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a circuit diagram.

Figure '7 shows a typical installation of the invention on a turret mounted in a vehicle such as in the fuselage of an airplane.

The invention may be applied to the control of two guns 2, indicateddiagrammatically in Fig.

306, these guns being preferably mounted in a tui=- ret such as that shown in the application of Huey and lowner, Serial Number 388,255, filed April 12, 1941. In this structure, the guns are mounted in a turret which turns in train about a vertical axis, while the guns turn in elevation in the tin-- ret about a horizontal axis 3. Rotation of the turret is produced by engagement of'a gear carried thereby with a fixed rack A.

As shown diagrammatically in Fig. 6, each gun carries a segment 8 driven through gears [8 from a common gear !2 driven by motor l i. Elevation of the guns is produced by energization of up coil l6 or down coil l8 of the motor. These coils are connected to contacts 29, 22, on a segment 24 connected by gear 25 to gear I2. The other terminal of current source 28 is connected by line 29 to contact 30 on a control stick '32. This constitutes a follow up mechanism to move the guns up or down respectively as the stick is pulled back or pushed forward.

Each of the guns has a firing mechanism 36 which is connected in a circuit with battery 38 and sticktrigger switches 38, 36 carried by control stick 32. Closing of these switches normally causes the guns to fire.

The control mechanism of the present inven tion comprises an upright cylindrical casing 42 mounted on a part 44 of the turret frame. Rotatably and slidably mounted within this casing is a drum 46. This drum has a closed end 48 through which is slidable a rod 50. An inner sleeve 52 is secured to end piece 48. Within sleeve 52 is a plunger 54 turnably secured by nut 56 on the end of rod 50f A coil spring 58 within the sleeve normally pushes plunger 54 and rod 50 downward (Fig. 5) or outwardly from the drum. This spring and plunger construction allows overtravel of the drum.

Rod 50 carries a rack 60 which is slidable through the lower end of casing 42. V This rack engages a gear 62, which in turn is mounted on a shaft 6| carrying a gear 63 which engages a second gear driven by the elevation motor 14, for example the gear 26. Thus the drum 46 is moved longitudinally in the casing in accordance with the elevation angle of the guns 2.

An outer sleeve 64 is slidable longitudinally on sleeve 52, but is prevented from turning with respect thereto by keys 66. Secured in the end of sleeve 64 is a worm gear 68. This gear is driven by a worm 76 mounted on shaft 12. carries a gear 14 meshing with fixed ring gear 4. Obviously, as the turret turns with respect to the ring gear, worm will be turned and will turn sleeve 64 and there through drum 46. The an- This shaft gular position of the drum will therefore be dependent on the position of the turret and guns in train.

Mounted on casing 42 are three switches I6, 18 and 8D. Switches 16 and 18 are arranged in the control lines to firing mechanisms 34 of the two guns, and are normally closed, although urged to open position. Each of these switches is controlled by a button 82, and is closed as long as pressure is applied to this button but opened when such pressure is released. Slidably mounted in casing 42 opposite the buttons 82 are pins 84, which are urged out of engagement with buttons 82 by springs 86. However, pins 84 are of such length that they are held against buttons 82 when they are opposite a solid part of the surface of drum 46 (see Fig. 4).

Drum 46, however, is provided with cutouts or contoured holes 88, having sloping edges 90 (Fig. 4) cooperating with the tapered ends of pins 84.

spring 86 pushes the pin away from button 82 and the switch will open. The contour of each of the holes 88 is so chosen that, when the gun controlled thereby is in a position where it should not fire, as when it is pointed at a part of the vehicle, a cut out will, because of the movement of drum 46 in accordance with the train and elevation of the guns, come opposite the pin 84. The switch in the circuit to that gun will then open so that the gun cannot be fired until it has moved to a clear position, so that a solid portion of the drum is again brought beneath the pin.

The third switch 80 is normally held open, but may be moved to closed position. This switch is in circuit with a battery 92 and solenoid 94. This solenoid operates a conductor bar 96 arranged in circuit 29. As long as switch 80 is open and solenoid 94 is dead, bar 96 maintains a circuit through line 29 so that motor l4 may be controlled for either up or down movement by control stick 32. If, however, switch 80 is closed, solenoid 94 lifts bar 96 and breaks line 29, at the same time closing a circuit to up winding N5 of motor I4 regardless of the position of contact Whenever one of these holes is opposite a pin,

30. Thus when switch is closed the motor will always turn to raise the guns, whether the gunner operates his controls accordingly or not.

When the turret is mounted to turn about an axis which is inclined with respect to the surrounding wall of the vehicle, as shown in Figure 7, the drum 46 is provided with a cutout 98 opposite the pin 84 of switch 80. This cutout is so shaped that, whenever the guns are at a low angle that is, substantially horizontal, as shown in Figure 7, that they would strike the fuselage on the opposite side of the turret if they were maintained at such angle during turning of the turret, such turning of the turret by longitudinal movement of the drum will bring the cutout opposite the pin 84' and will release such pin to permit switch 80 to close. This will then elevate the guns to a sufiicient degree to clear the vehicle wall as the turret turns, after which the drum will again engage pin 84 and permit desired manipulation of the gun in elevation.

While I have described herein one embodiment of my invention I wish it to be understood that I do not intend to limit myself thereby except within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described including a turret, guns mounted to turn about a first axis in said turret which is mounted to turn about a second axis, an electric firing control circuit for said guns, motor means and an electric circuit control means therefor to move said guns about said axes, a housing, an apertured drum mounted in said housing for turning and sliding movement therein, means for sliding said drum along its axis in said housing in accordance with movements of the guns about said first axis and for turning said drum in said housing in accordance with movements of the turret about said second axis, said drum having a plurality of cut-out portions in the surface thereof, a plurality of switches mounted on the housing corresponding to the number of cut-out portions, switch actuating means extending through said housing and normally engaging the surface of said drum, said switch actuating means arranged to operate said switches when said switch actuating means register with said cut-out portions, one of said switches connected to control the firing circuits of each gun and one of saidswitohes and cut-out portions constructed and arranged to actuate the motor control circuit of the elevating motor to raise the guns whenever the switch registers with said cut-out portion.

2. In a device of the class described including a turret mounted in a vehicle, guns mounted in said turret having motors formoving said guns in elevation and azimuth, electric circuit means for controlling the motion and firing of said guns comprising a drum member mounted for rotary and sliding movement, means for moving said drum member in response to movements of the guns in elevation and azimuth, cut-out portions on the surface of said drum member, switch means cooperating with said cut-out portions to energize the control circuits of said guns, one of said switch means controlling the firing of each gun and another of said switch means controlling the elevation motor of said guns, a manually operated control for the elevation motorrfor elevating and lowering said guns, said last named switch means controlling the circuit of said manually operated control for moving the guns in an upward direction when said switch actuating member comes in registration with the cut-out portion of said drum to prevent the guns from striking the vehicle.

3. In a device of the class described, a gun mounted in a vehicle, motor means and control means therefor for moving said gun about elevation and azimuth axes, an apertured drum member mounted for movement in two different directions, means for moving said drum member in such two directions in response to movement of said gun about said two axes respectively, an electric firing control circuit for said gun and switch means in said circuit controlled by the position of said drum member to interrupt said circuit and prevent firing of said gun in predetermined directions, and other switch means controlled by the position of said drum member for overriding the control means for said gun motor means for moving the gun about one of said axes in a direction away from the surface of the vehicle so as to prevent the gun from striking the vehicle.

4. In a device of the class described, a gun mounted in a vehicle for movement about elevation and azimuth axes, a control device therefor comprising an apertured drum member mounted for movement in two different directions, means for moving said member in such two directions in response to movement of said gun about said two axes respectively, an electric firing control circuit for said gun, switch means in said circuit controlled by the position of said drum member to interrupt said circuit and prevent firing of said gun in predetermined directions, motor means for causing the gun to turn about one of said axes, manually operated control means for said motor means, and other switch means controlled by the position of said drum member for rendering said manually operated control means inoperative and for controlling said turning means to move the gun about such axis in such a direction to prevent the gun from striking the vehicle.

5. In a device of the class described, a gun mounted to turn about a first axis in a turret mounted to turn about a second axis, a control device therefor comprising a drum mounted for turning and sliding movement, means for sliding said drum in accordance with movement of the gun about said first axis and for turning the drum in accordance with movement of the turret about said second axis, said drum having cutouts in the surface thereof, a first switch member engaging the surface of said drum and movable into one of said cutouts, a control circuit including said switch member and means in said control circuit controlled by the position of said switch member for preventing firing of the gun, means for turning the gun about said first axis, manual means to control said turning means, a second switch member engaging the surface of the drum and movable into the other of said cutouts, and circuit means controlled by said second switch member for rendering said manual control means inoperative and for controlling said turning means for moving the gun about such axis in a direction to prevent the gun from striking the vehicle.

6. In a device of the class described, a gun mounted in a vehicle for movement about elevation and azimuth axes, a control device therefor comprising a drum member mounted for movement in two different directions, means for moving said drum member in such two directions in response to movement of said gun about said two axes respectively, motor means for causing the gun to turn about one of said axes, manually operated control means for said motor means, and switch means controlled by the position of said drum member for rendering said manual control means inoperative and for controlling said motor means for mOVing the gun about such axis in a direction to prevent the gun from striking the vehicle, either with its barrel or bullets.

7. In a device of the class described, a gun mounted to turn about a first axis in a turret mounted to turn about a second axis, a control device therefor comprising a drum mounted for turning and sliding movement, means for sliding said drum in accordance with movement of the gun about said first axis and for turning the drum in accordance with movements of the turret about said second axis, said drum having a cutout in the surface thereof, a switch member engaging the surface of the drum and movable into said cutout, motor means for turning the gun about said first axis, manually operated means to control said motor means, and means controlled by said switch member for rendering said manually operated control means inoperative and for controlling said turning means for moving the gun about such axis in a direction to prevent the gun from striking the vehicle, either with its barrel or bullets.

8. A control device for use with power operated guns mounted to turn about a first axis in a turret which is mounted to turn about a second axis, and having motor means to move said guns about said axes, said control device comprising a housing, an apertured drum mounted in said housing for turning and sliding movement therein, said drum adapted to slide along its axis in said housing in accordance with movements of the guns about said first axis and for turning in said housing in accordance with movements of the turret about said second axis, said drum having a plurality of cutout portions in the surface thereof, a plurality of switches mounted on the housing corresponding to the number of cutout portions, switch actuating means extending through said housing and normally engaging the surface of said drum, said switch actuating means being arranged. to operate said switches when said switch actuating means register with said cutout portions, one of said switches connected to control the firing circuits of each gun and one of said switches and cutout portions adapted to actuate the motor control circuit of the elevating motor to increase the elevation of the guns whenever the switch registers with said cutout portion.

JOHN E. SOENKE. g 

